Play has been suspended at Augusta National after two large pine trees fell on the crowded course due to high winds. At this point it is unclear if any patrons were injured.
“I was sitting, looking, waiting for the next group to come up to the tee and it fell maybe 8-10 chairs to our left,” said patron Megan Hill. “I stood up and screamed and thought, ‘Is it going to fall on me? It fell to the left of us and it was so scary. If the wind had been blowing a slightly different direction, we might have got hit.”
“Pinecones were hitting us in the back, we turned around and looked up and heard a huge cracking noise and the tree basically crushed 10 chairs that were sitting there,” said Deshey Thomas. “Luckily we got everyone out of there. We were blessed.”
“It fell on my chair,” said Sylvia Martin. “We were sitting under the umbrella because of the pinecones. We were kinda laughing and joking it was raining pinecones and pine needles.
“All of a sudden, the people behind us were paying attention.
“We heard cracking.
“Everyone started running. so we were trying to get over the rope (into the fairway). We had nowhere to go because people were behind us.”
An announcement from the clubhouse shortly after horns sounded to stop play said: “There are thunderstorms approaching the area with heavy winds and lightning. Play has been suspended.”
Pro golfer Sergio Garcia, who was on the green at the 15th when the trees came down, said:
“It sounded like a grandstand blew over, super loud.
“Two trees fell down from the roots and took another one on the way down.
“People scattered around them but there was one woman that the trees fell around her and somehow she didn’t get hurt. Thank God.”
Crazy moment from the Masters.
Massive pine tree falls over on the 17th.pic.twitter.com/ci8qcyidMt
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 7, 2023
A tree just fell at Augusta. #Masters pic.twitter.com/deAw69ap7v
— Pete P (@peteypalmetto) April 7, 2023
Holy crap. A hundred foot tall Georgia pine tree just came down near spectators at The Masters. pic.twitter.com/eRsukesfxV
— Jerad Walker (@jeradwalker) April 7, 2023
